Chief (to Benson): “Of course, you’re a suspect.”
Benson: “Why?”
Chief: “Because you’re black.”
Benson: “Fair enough.”
Now that’s quality television! 
I admit, Soap (and Dog Day Afternoon) pretty much introduced me to the concept that homosexuality existed at all (I think I was 10 or so). So I certainly never read anything odd in the portrayal. But it’s a good point y’all bring up.
[Major] Call the MP’s… the man is a loon! [/Major]
I like Jodie. Granted, the whole sex change thing was more or less totally improbable, and the fact that he’s starting to sleep with women (I’ve only seen one season, but I know it happens more later on) is a cop-out, but it’s a soap opera. I mean, random stupidity is par for the course. But apart from the soap opera stuff, it seems like Jodie is more or less a pretty ordinary guy who just happens to sleep with other guys. And the bit after he’s taken all the pills to kill himself, and his roommate is telling him why he should want to live, and there’s just that reaction shot with the tears… That’s a damn fine bit of acting on the part of Billy Crystal.
And to give Bert his due - yes, he gets inappropriately happy after Jodie goes out with a guy. But considering his reactions to Jodie in the first few episodes, he’s actually come pretty far.
"My baby…flies!"
:eek:
"My baby…flies!"
:eek:
oops
I liked when Mary is pregnant, and realizes that the baby might be Alien Bert’s. She gets very upset and asks Jessica for a calender. Jessica asks “Oh, Mary. Are you going to throw up?” and produces a colander and says “Because if you throw up in this, it’ll just go through!”
I love Katherine Helmond. She’s great.
The next lines:
Jessica: How about his election opponent?
Corrine:I did him too. And let’s just say, the better man didn’t win.
Count me in as another person offended by Billy Crystal’s character – both as a transseuxal and as a gay person. That presentation was misleading to the public and reinforced grossly inappropriate stereotypes that we’re still struggling to eliminate. (It’s amazing how many people think that since I’m attracted to
Other than that, the show was pretty funny, but I’m not going to waste space on my TiVo to record it.
Oh, damn, posted too soon.
Lemme finish that parenthetical. It’s amazing how many people think that since I’m attracted to women, I don’t have to transition and have reassignment. Just stay the way I am. This sort of nonsense is based on the wrong notion that reassignment is how gay men deal with being attracted to other men. And that notion was reinforced by Crystal’s character on SOAP.
I think what happened was ABC decided to “push the envelope” by having a gay character, but eventually caved in to whatever group that doesn’t like TV or anything controversial.
A similiar thing happened with Tony Randall’s Love, Syndey. He was supposed to be gay, but NBC chickened out.
In the first season, the Soap was banned by my local ABC affiliate because of the show’s content and the station manager did want to subject the audience to such filth. They did show it the following summer when ABC ran two episodes in the 11:30pm timeslot. When the show turned out to be a huge suce$$, the local affiliate decided to show it.
The station manager decided that it was okay to show it. Hypocritical bastard. Oh yeah, they did the same thing with NYPD Blue.
I don’t remember much about that show, but I remember Randall’s character being gay, was I wrong about this somehow?
The show was a spin-off from Sydney Shorr: A Girl’s Best Friend, a TV movie in which Randall is a gay commercial artist. who befriends a single mother.
In the beginning, Sydney’s homosexuality is a key point. After a few episodes, Tony’s character’s sexuality is no longer a plot device.
Ulitmately, the show sucked.
I’m actually finishing up a book on the making of Soap – it goes to the publisher tomorrow – and I have to say the topic of Jodie was the hardest to tackle. But I think the above comment pretty much nails it.
As un-PC as Jodie seems to us today, he did represent the lives of a lot of gay men in the '70s who wrestled with their sexuality, moving from clandestine relationships with men to overt relationships with women. Societal pressures were immense, and drove LGBT people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do simply to exist in society. (Though Jodie’s dip into being a transvestite in the first couple of episodes is pretty hard to justify on any grounds beyond getting a cheap laugh.)
Perhaps more important than his story lines was the effect the character had on audiences. Throughout its four year run, producers received many many letters from gay young people thanking them for the character, and from parents who told them they now understood their gay children better.
Finally, though Soap is famous for all the protests, boycotts and anger it inspired from the religious right, there was also a great deal of pressure coming from gay rights groups, too. We quote a letter from a network censor in the book somewhere that reveals just how frustrated the network was because no matter which way they steered the character, they were punished for it.
All in all, a fascinating topic. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it 
Finally! I’m part of a worthy zombie resurrection!
Link to book source when you can, please.
Indeed.
I wish Netflix would pick this series up. Loved this damn show.
One joke always sticks in my mind. Jodie says something or other about the Bay of Pigs invasion. Jessica gets a faraway look in her eyes, and says, slowly, with voice full of wonderment, "A bay of pigs . . . "
Umm, they have.
Thanks for reminding me about this show, queued it!
My favorite joke from the off-shoot “Benson”
LatAM rebels: “We will hold you for ransom. We will ask for six Phantom jets; one for each of us!”
Benson: “Don’t be greedy, they each seat two!”